Virgin Galactic already have increased their WK2 so that they can do orbital launches. They might launch QuickReachs which have a capacity of 1000 pounds.

So they easyly might launch anything into LEO once the White Knight 2 is ready.

Why shouldn't other parts of the Virgin trust be capable to develop a small rover weighing no more than 1000 pounds? A stage required to go to the Moon could be placed into orbit using additional QuickReachs...

Today I started to think about AMSAT's doings regarding Mars and also the teams of the Mars Society.

AMSAT is working on the communications part for ARCHIMEDES. Other experiments could be added also. So AMSAT will be capable to develop proper communicatiosn hardware for a rover, telemetry for it and so on.

The Mars Society on the other hand knows to develop a private amateur probe which also would be speaking for participation.

But most interesting for those two amateur organizations would be the prize money. They no longer would have to look for being launched piggypack to avoid launch costs but could buy launches independently.

Unfortunately ARCHIMEDES is intended to be launched in 2009.

But what about Peter Kokh's Artemis Society and Lunar Reclamation Society etc.?

If I was an executive of a large consumer electronics company like Sony or Samsung I sure would be interested. Can you think of a better way to show the superitory of your products then have the hardware running around the Moon?

As this is not a scientific mission there is enormous potential for public participation. You could have people pay a modest fee to become Team Members as a team member you get to vote on the landing sites, the name of the rover etc. Once it lands sites for exploration can be selected by ballot.

I know that just a few peoples like my ideas, proposals and opinions while other peoples dislike them, but, I'm sure that, BOTH peoples, WANT their countries will ALWAYS have DEMOCRACY and FREEDOM and nobody likes that Google does in USA, Europe, etc. the same things it does in China for business (if you don't know what, just search more info googling...).

TWO years ago I've invented (and published on my website and several space forums and blogs) the idea of a Moonrovers Prize competition:

Then, I've (also) sent dozens emails to websites, newspapers and big companies to propose my idea, and that emails included one to Google (that I still have with the files of "mail read" replies).

So, when Google has announced "its" ("original") "Lunar X Prize", I've published two articles on my ghostNASA.com blog (hosted by Bravenet.com) including the mail sent to Google, as evidence of the TRUTH.

But, last Sept. 21, Bravenet, that seems be a Google's partner (like half world...) has SUSPENDED my website (that's now inaccesible) and (worst!) has DELETED my Bravenet account (and a PAID web hosting) so I can't access to my three domains (two of them now inactive) to move them to another server in Italy or Europe or Russia or India or wherever there is NOT that censorship.

Well, until I'll have back my domains and put them on another server, I want your help, since, what happened to me to-day, could happen tomorrow TO YOU or to every FREE peoples that want to publish their opinion without be CENSORED by BIG companies that believe they can do everything they wants!!!

I'm posting this message on as many as possible forums and blogs (and send to newspapers and websites) all over the world, but, of course, I can't reach all them, so, if you have a website, a forum, a blog (or write on other blogs/forums/websites/newspapers) please post this full message on them to allow peoples know WHAT Google and/or Bravenet have done!

Thank You

Gaetano Marano

Until I'll have my blog again, you can download a .pdf file with all blog's articles (including those about the Google's "original" lunar prize) clicking this link:

PS - If you'll experience any problem to download the .pdf file, please send a mail to me, so, I'll put it on another server (and another, another, another... if necessary) and its link on my website's home page:

UPDATE: a FURTHER EPISODE OF CENSORSHIP now on Wikipedia that REMOVED my comments (about the REAL inventor of the lunar prize (me) and the Google/Bravenet censhorship) from the Google/LunarXprize/Bravenet Wiki articles' discuss pages... the POWER of Google!!!

Again - how can you be certain that you're the first one that came up with the idea? There's probably online records of myself saying the same thing, and certainly others, before you claiming to have come up with it.